The long range goal of this proposal is to increase the percentage of minority scientists by providing increased opportunities for underrepresented minority science students and scientists to successfully negotiate the science career ladder. The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Minorities Affairs Committee (MAC) recognizes that minority researchers are far more likely to study diseases that disproportionately affect minorities. The MAC, therefore, seeks to address the challenge by meeting the following objectives: 1) to provide minority students with the opportunity to acquire state-of-the-art knowledge and research skills in cell, molecular and developmental biology; 2) to provide opportunities for minority students and young faculty to exchange ideas with leading biomedical scientists; 3) to foster development of a network of minority scientists and graduate students; 4) to motivate minority undergraduate science students to pursue research careers. These objectives will be accomplished by implementing the following projects: . Travel awards will be provided to students and faculty members to attend the ASCB Annual Meeting where they will participate with other minority scientists in a MAC sponsored Poster Session, joint MAC/Education Committees Information Booth, E.E. Just Award Presentation by a leading minority scientist, and a Satellite Meeting on Mentoring and Careers; . Tuition, laboratory fees, housing and travel support will be provided to underrepresented minority students who are accepted into summer courses at the marine laboratories at Friday Harbor, WA and Woods Hole, MA; Support will be provided for faculty members from minority-serving institutions to perform research in the laboratories of ASCB members; . Support will be provided for students and young faculty members to participate in workshops sponsored by the Histochemical Society; . Linkage relationships will be established with additional minority-serving institutions; services to Linkage Institutions aim to increase the competitiveness of faculty and students in mainstream science activities; . A Junior Faculty Scholars Program will be established to assist in the career development of promising underrepresented minority cell biologists who are junior faculty members; . Collaborations with ABRCMS, SACNAS, AISES and Leadership Alliance will be established to mentor and recruit students for careers in ceil biology; . Special meetings and electronic surveys will be conducted to share and discuss issues relating to underrepresented scientists that will generate peer reviewed publications. Each of the projects will be carefully evaluated to determine its success and adjustments made where warranted, and a tracking system will be implemented to assess the long-term impact of program activities on participants.